


The Call to Adventure

by BobSaysHelloFromNL



Series: Merlin Pokémon AU [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 2nd chapter is just art, Adventure, Aithusa is a swablu, Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Fanart, First Meetings, Friendship, I realise there might not be much crossover between merlin and Pokemon fans, Merlin is basically a Pokemon whisperer, Multi, Slow Burn, but give it a try?, might make this into a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26324317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BobSaysHelloFromNL/pseuds/BobSaysHelloFromNL
Summary: On Merlin's first day in Camelot, he meets his mentor, he makes a friend and an enemy and he then goes on to save said enemy's life.So basically the first episode, except this time it's in the Pokémon universe and really the whole scenario is quite different.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merlin Pokémon AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1913911
Comments: 19
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

Stumbling out of his seat, Merlin has to take a hold of the railing to avoid falling into the water below. A wave hits the ship and it swerves. Two hands on the rail, Merlin carefully makes the jump onto land.

He's made it. Finally, he's on land again. He heaves a sigh, almost sinking to his knees in dramatics. It wasn't even as if it was his first time on a boat, what with his best friend being a sailor and all.

"Are you done puking yet?" Speak of the devil. Will leaned over the railing of his ship, having probably just finished securing all of his fancy knots or something. Merlin had never quite got the hang of sailing.

"Have you come up with a new joke yet?" Merlin shot back, though a smile did form on his lips.

"I don't have to." His friend shrugged. "That one will never get old. Aithusa agrees with me, right?"

On cue, the bird pokémon lands on Merlin's head, folding her cloudy wings into her blue body. She chirped an agreement. As it was impossible to glare at her while she was perched on his head, Merlin just poked her lightly in revenge. "You're _my_ pokémon, you're not allowed to be on his side," he complained.

"Don't worry, Merls. I'm sure you're still her favourite. She's just being nice to me because she'll miss me." Will made an exaggerated pouty face.

"Oh, sod off, Will." Merlin laughed. "It's not like we'll be gone forever. I just needed a change, you know?"

"Right, of course. I’m just pulling your leg. You enjoy yourself on the mainland. Go save some pokémon and kiss some boys or whatever. Just don't forget about little ol' Ealdor, alright? Else Hunith will probably have me chasing after you to bring you back."

"I'll make sure to call her," Merlin promised. "And you."

"Good." Will nodded. "Now, off with you! Wingull and I have to be back in time to watch Morgana's contest on the telly."

Merlin rolled his eyes at his friend’s infatuation with the famous Coordinator - that is, pokémon performer. "Good to know where your priorities lie."

With a final goodbye, Merlin waved off his friend's ship with the Wingull circling above it.

"We're on our own now, Aithusa," Merlin told the bird, still perched on his head. He raised a hand to stroke her. "Let's go find where the professor is at."

* * *

Merlin wished that he'd done a little more research before leaving home. It seemed as if this city did not receive frequent visitors, what with the lack of signage anywhere. Which is how Merlin ended up stranded at the Pokemon center, staring dumbfounded at the map of Camelot. Whose idea was it to hang a map of the entire region on the wall, instead of just a map of the Carmarthen,  town they were currently in?

"Excuse me," a kind voice asked. "Are you lost? Can I help you with something?"

"Yes! Thank you!" Merlin exclaimed, turning to face the stranger. It was a girl, about the same age as him, with beautiful curly brown hair and a skin tone to match. "I'm Merlin, I just arrived here by boat."

"I'm Gwen, nice to meet you." They shook hands. She gestured to the pokémon standing at her feet. "This is Nidoran, she's…"

"A nidoran?" Merlin finished. He had seen them before, rodent-like pokémon with a few poison-spikes on their back. This was a female one, judging by her light blue colour.

Gwen flushed. "Yes, that. I have never been good at naming pokémon, so I just kept calling her Nidoran and it kind of stuck."

Merlin smiled, charmed. "My mother is just like that. Honestly, I'm lucky to be named Merlin and not just 'son,'" he joked.

She laughed, diffusing the awkwardness. "Anyway, where is it that you're going?"

"Oh, right. I was trying to find-" but before he could finish his reply, the doors to the pokémon center opened and a small boy rushed in, drawing Merlin's attention. The child loudly ran up to the countertop.

"Sister Joy! Can you please look at my Pichu? I lost another fight to my neighbour's sister and-"

"Hold on, I have been waiting here for half an hour!" An angry voice interrupted. It belonged to an older blond boy with a strong build. "Get back in line, kid."

The little boy, about aged eleven Merlin guessed, startled. He immediately backed off upon seeing the blond boy’s face. Merlin had seen enough.

"Hey, you there. That's no way to talk to a child, my friend," he said, crossing the room to face him.

"Excuse me?" The boy narrowed his eyes.

"See? That's better." Merlin smiled.

"Do I know you?"

"No, I'm Merlin-"

"So, I don't know you, and yet you call me friend."

The little child from before actually 'oohed' at that, and Merlin shot him a betrayed look. He just shrugged in response. Man, kids these days were ruthless.

"Right, my bad. I would never be friends with a prat like you."

"Burn!" the child cried out delighted and Merlin turned to high five him.

"You can't say that to me," the blond boy said indignantly.

Merlin was about to retort when Sister Joy interrupted, fed up. "Right, if you children can't behave properly, I'll have to ask you to leave the pokémon center. Just hand over your pokémon and you can wait outside."

Merlin felt a bit guilty at the admonishment. "I'm sorry, Sister Joy. It's alright, I will just go. I was only here for the map anyway."

Gwen joined him at his side when he left the pokemon centre. He turned to her with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for the fuss in there, I just can't stand a bully."

Gwen looked amused. "That was brave of you, but also stupid. You're new here so you probably don't know, but you just angered Arthur Pendragon, the son of this region's reigning champion."

Merlin hummed. "So, he's a spoiled rich kid? All of a sudden I don't feel so bad about what happened anymore." He grinned at Gwen.

She laughed. "Something tells me we're going to get along great. So, where was it you were going?"

"To the laboratory. My mum is friends with the local professor, so I was hoping he might have a job for me. He sent me a letter, telling me to just drop by."

"Oh, you're looking for Gaius! I know him, and I know exactly where he's at. I'll show you the way."

It turned out that Gaius's lab wasn't directly in Carmarthen but that it lay just on the path to the Forest of Dean, through which you need to travel to reach Warwick. Along the way Gwen tells him that she'd actually only just received her Nidoran from the professor a few days ago and that she'd planned on leaving on an adventure.

"So why are you still here then?" Merlin asked.

"The cave up ahead is blocked by this boulder. It's been there for two days now. The local authorities are a bit slow in responding, but everything should be cleared by tomorrow."

Merlin cocked his head, storing that information for later. The laboratory building looked a bit more old-fashioned on the outside than Merlin would have expected, seemingly going for more of a mystical atmosphere than a high-tech one.

Inside they were immediately greeted by a man Merlin recognised as Gaius. "It's so nice to see you," Merlin said after the initial introductions had been made.

"Last time I visited your mother you were still an infant. How _is_ Hunith doing these days?"

“It's been hard but… she's getting by." Merlin noticed Gwen's curious being peaked by this, though he was grateful she didn't ask any further.

Gaius nodded sympathetically. "Yes, she's a strong lady. But enough about that, I'm sure you had another reason in coming here."

Merlin's shoulders relaxed. "Yes! In fact, I was wondering if you still had that job opening. I know it's a bit past the deadline, but I was hoping…" he trailed off as he saw the apology on Gaius' face. "Oh."

"I'm sorry, dear boy. I'm afraid I already found another trainer to complete the pokédex. It is truly regrettable as you might have been a better fit for the job, being a bit older and more experienced." The professor looked thoughtful, as if he was having some serious second thoughts about his recent recruit. "Well, it's too late for that now. Let's hope the kid doesn't get in too much trouble."

He then took another considering look at Merlin before saying, "Gwen, if you don't mind, could you bring me my suitcase? It should be in the back room."

"Of course!" Gwen took off, her nidoran in tow.

Merlin looked back at Gaius, who wore a serious expression. Gaius lowered his voice, "Your mother has never expressly said so, but is it true that you share your father's gift?"

Merlin's breath hitched. "You know about that?"

Gaius hushed him and raised an eyebrow.

Merlin snapped his mouth shut and just nodded.

"To what extent are we talking about?"

"A great extent."

Gaius nodded as if he had suspected this already. "In that case I might have a job for you after all."

Merlin perked up. "What is it?"

"Think of it more as freelance work. You can travel around Camelot as you like and run the occasional _errand_ for me. Anything that your _talent_ might be useful for. If you think you can do so discreetly, that is." And there was the eyebrow again, sizing him up.

Merlin nodded emphatically. "I can do that. I can be very discreet, you'll see. Or rather, you won't see because that's how discreet I'll be. I'll do my best! No one will know- ah, Gwen! You're back again with the suitcase."

The eyebrow intensified. Gwen just looked at him funnily. "Yes, I am back. Here it is," she said, handing it off to Gaius.

He smiled kindly at her. "Thank you, Gwen. Now, Merlin. Since you're in my employ I can offer you a starter pokémon, if you like. Although the options may be a bit unconventional compared to other regions."

Merlin hesitated. "Thank you for the offer but that's alright." Not wanting to sound rude, he added: "It wouldn't feel right taking someone else's starter when I already have my own pokémon."

Although Gwen still looked a bit surprised, they both nodded in understanding.

"Well then, if you could give me your contact details and then you can be on your way."

* * *

They had said goodbye to the professor and left the lab when Merlin sensed a disturbance. With a frown, he turned and ran off in the opposite direction from where they'd come from.

"Merlin! Where are you going?" He heard Gwen call, followed by her footsteps chasing after him.

"I thought I heard something," he lied, shouting over his shoulder. He grabbed a poké ball from the belt on his waist and pressed the button. It opened up, his swablu flying out of it. "Aithusa, go ahead and scan the situation," he told her. She flew off, her cloudy wings flapping rapidly to build up speed.

Disregarding the sandy path, Merlin went straight through the tall grass with Gwen right on his heels. An angry roar rang through the forest and Merlin felt a wave of protectiveness and fury sweep through him. Aithusa circled back, before guiding him between trees and towards a big cave. Pushing aside the branches, Merlin took in the scene before him.

It was the blond boy from before, Arthur. He was standing in front of a fallen riolu, a rufflet flying clumsily at his side. They were facing off against an angry mother-bear, the ursaring standing on its two feet, guarding the entrance to the cave.

"Rufflet, use wing attack!" Arthur commanded.

"No don't!" Merlin warned him but it was too late. The eaglet pokémon listened to its trainer and bravely dove right for the ursaring, managing miraculously to avoid the claws and hit her on her side. Enraged, the ursaring swiped the air in front of her. With her intended target behind her, she decided to go for the human threat instead. Arthur's eyes widened but he stood his ground in front of his riolu.

Merlin heard Gwen scream in alarm as she entered the clearing.

"Aithusa, use sing!" Merlin shouted. She reacted instantly. The calming melodious sound of her singing soothed the ursaring, who backed down and promptly curled up fast asleep.

Merlin hurried forward, congratulating his swablu on a job well done before kneeling at the riolu's side. It looked like it had fainted, likely the first to be attacked by the ursaring. Merlin took off his backpack, easily finding one of his potions. He carefully sprayed it over the unconscious riolu's bruises.

"Will she be alright?" Gwen asked from where she had been observing from over his shoulder.

"I think so, a trip to the pokémon center should be enough."

"I'll take her there right now." At the sound of the owner's voice Merlin straightened up in fury, coming face to face with Arthur.

"You! Idiot! What were you thinking? She's practically a baby pokémon! Picking a fight with an ursaring? You're lucky that your rufflet came out of it alright! Honestly, using a physical move on a giant bear?" Merlin ranted.

"Excuse me, don't tell me how to take care of _my_ pokémon!"

"I will when you're clearly doing an abysmal job at it. What would you have done if we hadn't shown up?"

"I would have… I would have thrown a poké ball at the ursaring!" Arthur finished triumphantly. "I could have caught it hadn't you interfered."

"Don't you dare catch her; she has a child!"

"She- what now?"

"Guys! Calm down or you're going to wake her!" Gwen intervened. "You can save this all for later, we have to get this pokémon to sister Joy first."

"Right." Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Argue with the prat later, protect the pokémon first. "Ok, you guys go ahead I'll make sure the ursaring is alright. Don't worry, Gwen, I've got Aithusa with me." The pokémon in question chirped, helpfully landing on Merlin's head.

"Alright. Arthur?" Gwen looked at him expectantly. "With me."

The boy looked like he was about to protest but wisely bit his tongue as he followed Gwen out of the forest.

Merlin turned his back on them and headed for the ursaring. He didn't imagine that Arthur's rufflet had done too much damage on her, but just to be sure he left her some oran berries for when she woke up. It was a good thing his backpack held so much storage for berries and healing items.

At last, he went to study the remains of the boulder that had been blocking the cave. From its current state, Merlin deduced that Arthur had likely gotten impatient and had his riolu use rock smash. It was actually quite impressive that the small pokémon had managed to pull that off. He ventured deeper into the cave, searching for signs of a nest that he knew would likely be there. And sure enough, he found it. A large but cosy hole in one of the walls revealed a nest, with an egg bigger than Merlin's head lying right in the middle of it.

"Festus, I need your help," he whispered to the poké ball as he released his charmander. The salamander pokémon tilted its head at him. "We need to keep this egg warm until the ursaring wakes up. Think you're up to the task?"

In response, Festus wagged the little flame on the tip of his tail before curling up besides the egg. Aithusa flew down from Merlin's head to take up position on the other side of it. Merlin smiled at his little team.

He sat himself down on the ground near to the nest's opening, on the lookout for any possible danger, as his pokémon drifted off to sleep. He almost nodded off himself, soothed by the sleepy thoughts of his pokémon and the comforting warmth of the nest. After about an hour, the mother ursaring came sluggishly wandering back to the cave.

Merlin smiled at her. "Guess you're feeling better after a nice nap and some food, eh? Don't worry about your baby, we've kept your egg safe for you." The pokémon nudged him with her head and stalked past him into the nest. Aithusa and Festus made way for her, though they didn't seem intimidated by the large bear. Rightly so, she seemed much calmer now than she'd been before and she filled the cave with a welcoming sensation.

Regretfully, Merlin stood up. "I have to go check up on that cabbagehead that disturbed you, just to make sure everyone is all right. I can come back later with more berries, if you'd like that."

The ursaring gave a happy grunt, sniffing once more at her egg before settling down for another well-deserved nap.

* * *

At the pokémon center, Merlin encountered a dejected looking Arthur, sulking once more in the waiting room. Gwen sat next to him, her nidoran curled up at her feet. They both looked up when Merlin entered, Gwen coming over to him first. "His pokémon are being looked after right now. What you did in the forest was really heroic. If you'd like, I'm sure my dad won't mind if I invite you over for dinner. If you don't have any other plans, of course."

"I'd like that very much, thank you for the offer," he reassured her. Then he glanced at the blond boy, still sitting behind her.

Gwen followed his gaze and grimaced. "Don't be too hard on him, he's honestly a decent type of trainer."

"I'll believe that when I see that." Merlin scowled.

"Fair enough. I'll wait for you outside."

"Thanks."

With Gwen gone, Merlin turned to Arthur again. The other boy stood up in greeting. "What you did for me out there, it was good."

Merlin was unimpressed. "Go on," he prompted.

Arthur looked pained as he gritted out. "Thank you. For healing my riolu and putting the ursaring to sleep."

Merlin smiled widely at him. "See? Was that so difficult?

"You're infuriating."

"And you're an irresponsible prat who endangers pokémon."

"Listen, how was I to know the ursaring would come out because I smashed that rock? It was blocking the cave, and with it the path to the whole of Camelot! Smashing the rock was the logical thing to do and it was my duty to-"

"Your duty?" Merlin repeated incredulously. "What are you, seventeen? Eighteen? You can't be much older than me. Tell me, how is it your duty exactly?"

"You might not know because you're new here, Merlin, but my father is the champion of this region. And as the future champion, I decided to act because no one else was doing anything."

"You're so full of yourself that it's almost impressive."

"Why are you here anyway?"

"I came to check up on your pokémon but seeing as they're fine - except for their unfortunate choice in trainer - I'll just get going now."

Merlin was almost at the door when Arthur called out. "Wait, Merlin!"

With a groan, he spun around. "What now?"

With a surprisingly earnest look on his face, Arthur asked, "The ursaring, is she ok?"

Merlin softened up. "Yes, she's just fine. And so is her egg."

"So she really is going to be a mother?"

Merlin nodded. "In fact, I think it might be really close to hatching. That's probably why she sealed the cave off, motherly instincts."

Arthur nodded along, before realising what he was doing. He frowned at Merlin again. "Alright, be off then."

Merlin snorted. "Prick," he said, before exiting the pokémon center. Sure enough, Gwen was waiting for him outside, playing a slow round of fetch with her nidoran.

"How did it go?"

"Well, he's still a prat."

"No redeeming qualities?"

"Nope, none whatsoever," Merlin answered sprightly.

Gwen laughed. "Sure. You know, Arthur is probably going to be a big rival for me."

"What do you mean?"

"He's just started on his journey to collect eight badges and challenge the elite four. I am about to start my own journey tomorrow."

"You're planning on beating the champion?"

Gwen blushed. "I don't know about actually beating him, I'll be happy to even get that far."

"No, don't say that! Gwen, you'll be an amazing pokémon trainer, I'm sure of it." Merlin beamed at her. "You and your pokémon are going to become so much stronger than that Arthur Pendragon."

Gwen laughed. "Thanks for saying that, Merlin. You're a good friend."

"I'll keep saying it till it becomes true! Actually, if you're still looking for a travel partner, I may know a guy." He smiled hopefully. "Professor Gaius said it was alright for me to travel around while running the occasional errand, and I would love to see you beat the elite four."

Gwen squealed and threw her arms around his neck, drawing him into a big embrace. "Yes! Let's do this! We can leave tomorrow morning. It's going to be great, Merlin!"

* * *

After a nice warm meal with Gwen and her father, Merlin went back to the cave in the forest. They had offered him a bed for the night, which he had thanked them for but politely turned down. He already had a place to stay that night.

He released Festus and Aithusa before rolling out his sleeping bag. He lay down, folding his arms behind his head. A contented little smile sat on his face. "Today has been a good day," he told the pokémon. "We made a new friend, we got a job and we saved a prat. Tomorrow is when the real adventure starts and hopefully it will be as interesting as today. Goodnight now Aithusa, Festus. Sleep well, Ursaring."

He was awoken early in the morning by a gentle nudge of a giant paw. Blearily he wrung his hands over his eyes before sitting up. Little cracking noises caught his attention. The egg was hatching. With bated breath, he and the three pokémon watched as bit by bit the egg opened up on top to reveal the head of an orange bear cub. A lighter patch of fur in the shape of a crescent moon sat on top of its forehead. It glanced around, taking in its first impressions of the world before settling on its mother. It called out to her and she responded, helping her cub completely out of the egg and licking its head.

"Congratulations, momma," Merlin whispered. "You've got yourself a little teddiursa."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, if you'd like to read more PLEASE tell me. I wrote this as a bit of a passion project and am considering making it into a series if there is enough interest. 
> 
> I have some rough ideas for other 'episodes' and a very rough idea for an actual story arc (pkm ranger inspired) and some backstory involving Balinor as a Dragon-type Trainer and there being some other form of magic in this world.
> 
> So please let me know if you WANT MORE, or if you have your own IDEAS for me to be inspired by (cause everything is still very much in the planning stages).


	2. Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin with Aithusa

Just a picture I drew. Could I have spent more time on the background? Yes. Did I feel like it? No, lol.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, if you'd like to read more PLEASE tell me. I wrote this as a bit of a passion project and am considering making it into a series if there is enough interest. 
> 
> I have some rough ideas for other 'episodes' and a very rough idea for an actual story arc (pkm ranger inspired) and some backstory involving Balinor as a Dragon-type Trainer and there being some other form of magic in this world.
> 
> So please let me know if you WANT MORE, or if you have your own IDEAS for me to be inspired by (cause everything is still very much in the planning stages).


End file.
